2024 Most Disruptive Business School Startups: Sitewiz, Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)

Sitewiz

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

Industry: E-commerce Optimization and AI-Driven Digital Solutions

Founding Student Name(s): Drake Som, Rohit Malhotra, Ram Potham

Brief Description of Solution: AI tool that deeply understands e-commerce site visitor behavior to optimize web experiences, deliver 1:1 personalization, and boost conversions.

Funding Dollars: $133,000

What led you to launch this venture? Had a conversation with Jared Miller, senior director of analytics and personalization at Kendra Scott. He shared many of the problems his analysts face, and we realized AI agents are uniquely capable of solving them.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Closing a pilot with Haynes Furniture, a DTC mid-market e-commerce company doing $300M annual revenue. Our efforts to build a relationship with their team resulted in their willingness to meet with us weekly and give testimonials. Previously, we were only pursuing small-sized clients and testers, so it was pivotal that a larger player saw something in us.

How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? It’s been the backbone of my ability to propose and execute company strategy and direction. This is relevant for our customer segmentation, validation, sales cycle, corporate partnerships, channel distribution, and customer-centric feature prioritization.

Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? Introduction to Entrepreneurship has been pivotal, being the birthing home of Sitewiz. It not only taught us the importance of getting out there and talking to customers, but also granted us practice pitching to investors.

What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Professor Graham Neubig, NLP thought leader and founder of OpenHands AI, has given us valuable advice on targeting larger enterprises and narrowing our focus on specific ideal customer profiles (ICPs).

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? I was inspired by Meredith Grelli, an entrepreneur in residence at CMU. She exited her company, Wigle Whiskey and came back to teach budding entrepreneurs.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? Our long-term goal is to set a global standard of digital optimization, where businesses and their customers feel connected like family.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? The Swartz Center within Carnegie Mellon and its numerous programs have been critical. It is a hub of mentorship from incredible entrepreneurs like Dave Mawhinney, Meredith Grelli, Sean Ammirati, and Adam Paulisick. It has also been a great resource, offering us office space among fellow startups and hosting competitions with funding opportunities.

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